Background and motivation:
Interactive Voice Response (IVR) is a popular and one of the most deployed technology interventions in the developing countries. One of the primary business drivers is that it does not mandate the user to use any technologically advanced device. On the other hand, IVR has been studied for its usability issues. Even for the service providers, IVR costs are higher than services on data channels. However, given the sunk costs and low-technology investments, they are an attractive business proposition and continue to garner support.
Our focus
This field trip is mainly focused on experiencing the different challenges of IVR while interacting with less-literate users. With a virtual set up of a call centre, we would like to understand how an IVR works? what are the different issues? What are the opportunities? How to make an IVR better? Through this field trip a wizard will be built to facilitate interactions between the user and the participant (Behaving as a machine with an IVR script). We will report the social aspects of IVR along with the technological aspects. We will highlight the established relationship between a man and a machine. We will also propose the opportunities to support IVRs and making it better in future.
Method: Wizard of Oz
Duration: 2 days (1 day of field work, 1 day of in-house experiment)
The call
centre will be manned by volunteers who can speak either of the 3
languages, namely, the local state language (Marathi), the national language
(Hindi) and English. Each volunteer will be provided a cell phone and a IVR
voice prompt script.
We will also print a low-cost A5 sheet pamphlet
advertising the availability of free talk time to callers of the published
number in a particular time window. We would then circulate this pamphlet
among the less-literate users inside and outside IIT Bombay Campus. We would also publicize
this on WhatsApp messaging platform, as well as directed WhatsApp messages to
the target audience. Their participation will be voluntary in nature. They will
have to perform a navigation task of mobile recharge using our IVR service.
On the other side, in the call center, there will be 5 volunteers with the cell phones and script. Each volunteer would also be trained on these scrips. During the call, they are required to voice record, using the phone’s built-in feature, each IVR interaction. Each phone would also be provided with a split stereo connector so that other field trip participants can also be able to listen to the conversation along with the volunteers. They will also interpret the conversation.
We will highlight the challenges experienced by our users in using the system and interpret them.
The recorded voice conversations would then be subjected to note-taking and the notes created would be analyzed using “Affinity Diagrams”. The findings from the affinity diagrams would constitute the report.
On the other side, in the call center, there will be 5 volunteers with the cell phones and script. Each volunteer would also be trained on these scrips. During the call, they are required to voice record, using the phone’s built-in feature, each IVR interaction. Each phone would also be provided with a split stereo connector so that other field trip participants can also be able to listen to the conversation along with the volunteers. They will also interpret the conversation.
We will highlight the challenges experienced by our users in using the system and interpret them.
The recorded voice conversations would then be subjected to note-taking and the notes created would be analyzed using “Affinity Diagrams”. The findings from the affinity diagrams would constitute the report.
Team
Team Size: 10
Group
Facilitators (2) - Deepak Ranjan Padhi – PhD scholar at IDC School of Design,
IIT Bombay, with focused interest in designing user interfaces with IVRs.
- Rohit
Gupta – M.Des student at IDC School of Design, IIT Bombay, to help in designing
the wizard and call centre set up.
Expecting participation from a diverse group of people who would be interested to work in similar area :)
Researchers (2) - Preferably, candidates belonging to an
advanced digitized country, who can contribute for experiment design and analysis.
Field representatives (5) - To help in recruiting users,
conducting primary user studies and running a virtual call centre. This
position seeks knowledge of Hindi and Marathi and a combination of male and
female candidates.
Designers (1) - To help in affinity analysis, creating quick
mock-ups of ideas and simulations, sketches and illustrations.
Contact
Deepak Ranjan Padhi
Email ID: dpadhi90@gmail.com
Phone: (+91) 8454 94 7015
Rohit Gupta
Email ID: indiantinker@gmail.com
Phone: (+91) 7276 24 5151
Web: http://rohitg.in/interact/
Phone: (+91) 8454 94 7015
Rohit Gupta
Email ID: indiantinker@gmail.com
Phone: (+91) 7276 24 5151
Web: http://rohitg.in/interact/
Register
INTERACT 2017 - Field Trip
https://www.interact2017.org/registration
https://www.interact2017.org/registration
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